I take a couple of supplements for more anxiety, Chamomile and magnesium, both are quite mild but I can't take valerian are anything stronger cos it just makes me depressed.What foods are good for the nervous system? I'm putting together a mild exercise regime and not to mention meditation too.

Any thoughts would be most welcome.

"The original heart/mind shines like pure, clear water with the sweetest taste. But if the heart is pure, is our practice over? No, we must not cling even to this purity. We must go beyond all duality, all concepts, all bad, all good, all pure, all impure. We must go beyond self and nonself, beyond birth and death. When we see with the eye of wisdom, we know that the true Buddha is timeless, unborn, unrelated to any body, any history, any image. Buddha is the ground of all being, the realization of the truth of the unmoving mind.” Ajahn Chah

Make sure you eat a basic healthy diet, to make sure you get all of the nutrients you need.

I have a friend who has been a psychotherapist for over 30 years. Most of her clients suffer from some sort of anxiety. First thing she tells them to do is to cut out all caffiene ( coffee, tea, beetle nut, kat, soda, chocholate, etc ). She tells me that almost 100% of the time within a few weeks her patients feel much less anxious doing only that.

Exercise until you feel tired

In reading the scriptures, there are two kinds of mistakes:One mistake is to cling to the literal text and miss the inner principles.The second mistake is to recognize the principles but not apply them to your own mind, so that you waste time and just make them into causes of entanglement.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]

greggorious wrote:I take a couple of supplements for more anxiety, Chamomile and magnesium, both are quite mild but I can't take valerian are anything stronger cos it just makes me depressed.What foods are good for the nervous system? I'm putting together a mild exercise regime and not to mention meditation too.

Any thoughts would be most welcome.

Hi Greg

It is not a food as such, and not a prescriptive medicine really, but have you tried St. John's wort? It grows out here in the wild.

Seconded!I have been on a whole-foods plant based diet for about seven or eight weeks now. I don't smoke and I've reduced my caffeine consumption dramatically. I've also been taking a non-diary-based probiotic. I recommend it to complement your exercise regime.kind regards,

Ben

PS: Don't forget the meditation!

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

nibbuti wrote:It is not a food as such, and not a prescriptive medicine really, but have you tried St. John's wort? It grows out here in the wild.

Just a note of caution on this: in Germany this can actually be prescribed as an anti-depressant, so on the one hand, good science backing to it, on the other, it is actually a potentially powerful drug. In the UK it mostly seems recommended as an anti-depressant as well. So I'm not sure what effect it would have on anxiety - maybe consult a doctor before trying it?

nibbuti wrote:It is not a food as such, and not a prescriptive medicine really, but have you tried St. John's wort? It grows out here in the wild.

Just a note of caution on this: in Germany this can actually be prescribed as an anti-depressant, so on the one hand, good science backing to it, on the other, it is actually a potentially powerful drug. In the UK it mostly seems recommended as an anti-depressant as well. So I'm not sure what effect it would have on anxiety - maybe consult a doctor before trying it?

Do consult a doctor before trying it AND before stopping it AND inform any doctor making any prescription for another drug that you taking it.

It is be a very effective medication for certain people with certain conditions but it can react with other drugs

A total of 704 drugs (4858 brand and generic names) are known to interact with St. John's wort

A very useful site as it can help you make informed questions when you see a doctor - but you should not make medical decisions based on the database without consulting a doctor. if you see something here that causes you concern and you can not get to a doctor at least talk to a pharmacist or in Australia you can phone the Poisons information Hotline on 131126.

Ben wrote:I have been on a whole-foods plant based diet for about seven or eight weeks now.

What a coincidence. I also started about seven or eight weeks ago. It's had miraculous effects on body weight and blood pressure. Are you measuring yours?

Yes but in the context of this thread you would want to ensure that measure were taken to ensure that there was enough B12 in the diet - this could be more of a problem if there was also a history of alcohol abuse. That is not a reason not to adopt a vegan diet - just a caution.

Feathers wrote:Just a note of caution on this: in Germany this can actually be prescribed as an anti-depressant

Sure, thanks for the note of caution, Feathers. But it is also sold freely in the local super market, and grows in the wild. About the anti-depressant, it doesn't suppress like many anti-depressant "drugs" do, but works with components that help restore the nervous system, which in turn is capable of healing a depression by itself (as it usually should). If unsure, nothing wrong with being careful and taking precautions. Many other plants the healing properties coincide with the poisonous ones.

dagon wrote:Yes but in the context of this thread you would want to ensure that measure were taken to ensure that there was enough B12 in the diet - this could be more of a problem if there was also a history of alcohol abuse. That is not a reason not to adopt a vegan diet - just a caution.

So many people, vegan or not, have trouble absorbing b-12 that it is a law in Israel that a number of foods have to be fortified with vitmain b-12. As you mentioned, people with a history of alcoholism have trouble getting enough b-12, as do smokers, or anyone over 50. Concerning the last group, it is very difficult for a human body to get b-12 from animal products and it only becomes more problematic as a person's digestive system ages. Hence the need for anyone over 50 to take a supplement to insure their health.

In reading the scriptures, there are two kinds of mistakes:One mistake is to cling to the literal text and miss the inner principles.The second mistake is to recognize the principles but not apply them to your own mind, so that you waste time and just make them into causes of entanglement.

dagon wrote:Yes but in the context of this thread you would want to ensure that measure were taken to ensure that there was enough B12 in the diet - this could be more of a problem if there was also a history of alcohol abuse. That is not a reason not to adopt a vegan diet - just a caution.

So many people, vegan or not, have trouble absorbing b-12 that it is a law in Israel that a number of foods have to be fortified with vitmain b-12. As you mentioned, people with a history of alcoholism have trouble getting enough b-12, as do smokers, or anyone over 50. Concerning the last group, it is very difficult for a human body to get b-12 from animal products and it only becomes more problematic as a person's digestive system ages. Hence the need for anyone over 50 to take a supplement to insure their health.

The facts

Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin)

Vitamin B12 helps to producte and maintain the myelin surrounding nerve cells, mental ability, red blood cell formation and the breaking down of some fatty acids and amino acids to produce energy. Vitamin B12 has a close relationship with folate, as both depend on the other to work properly.Good sources of B12 – include liver, meat, milk, cheese and eggs, almost anything of animal origin.Vitamin B12 deficiency – this is most commonly found in the elderly, vegans (vitamin B12 is only found in foods of animal origin) and breastfed babies of vegan mothers and is called pernicious anaemia. Symptoms include tiredness and fatigue, lack of appetite and weight loss, apathy and depression, anaemia, smooth tongue and degeneration of peripheral nerves progressing to paralysis.

B1, B6 and B12 are all very important parts of any diet and factors that anyone with any level of depression and anxiety needs to take in to account. It needs to be considered not only in the context of content of the diet but also how it is cooked. From my understanding B1 and B6 are often destroyed by cooking and by alchol.

The point about b12 is that if really a problem sourcing enough b12 in "normal western diets" as the body requires very little - but what it requires is very important. The good news is that the no animals produce their own B12 - so the supplements are not derived from animals.

The uptake of b12 into the system is affected by certain digestive diseases directly and for some of the medications prescribed to treat gastric problems - both of these are often found in older people (along with the accumulated effects of alcohol). B12 is stored in the liver which is part of the problem with alcohol abuse due to the damage that it does to the liver - just like the precepts this is not talking about drinking to the level of drunkenness. The other way that alcohol plays a part in the subject is that alcohol abuse and poor diet are commonly found in association. This is just part of the reason why alcohol is so bad when considered in the context of health generally and depression in particular.

The issue of exercise was mentioned earlier and it is also useful as part of the long term lifestyle management of these conditions. along side the exercise there is also the question of Vitimin D. As most people have busy life's i think that taking exercise outside helps to time manage to facilitate both of these issues.

dagon wrote:Yes but in the context of this thread you would want to ensure that measure were taken to ensure that there was enough B12 in the diet - this could be more of a problem if there was also a history of alcohol abuse. That is not a reason not to adopt a vegan diet - just a caution.

Hi Paul

Yes, I agree. I take a daily supplement of 1000mg B12, B-group and Vit D, and a dairy-free probiotic. As Daverupa alluded to earlier in this thread, there appears to be emerging evidence of the positive psychotropic effects of probiotics. The days I miss my vitamin and probiotic supplments I definitely notice the difference in my mood. kind regards,

Ben

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Ben wrote:I have been on a whole-foods plant based diet for about seven or eight weeks now.

What a coincidence. I also started about seven or eight weeks ago. It's had miraculous effects on body weight and blood pressure. Are you measuring yours?

I don't measure my blood pressure on a regular basis. Its just whenever I go see my doctor for something else. Having said that, since late last year when he wanted me to go on medication and my decision to implement a lifestyle change to regain my health - he has been very happy about my progress and thinks the regime I have adopted is "the way to go".I do weigh myself and track my weight. I weigh myself about every week at the gym which has a standard cantilever-type scales which are routinely calibrated and certified for accuracy. My weight loss is slow and steady - which I am happy with. Since late last year, I think I have lost close to 15kg.kind regards,

Ben

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

dagon wrote:Yes but in the context of this thread you would want to ensure that measure were taken to ensure that there was enough B12 in the diet - this could be more of a problem if there was also a history of alcohol abuse. That is not a reason not to adopt a vegan diet - just a caution.

So many people, vegan or not, have trouble absorbing b-12 that it is a law in Israel that a number of foods have to be fortified with vitmain b-12. As you mentioned, people with a history of alcoholism have trouble getting enough b-12, as do smokers, or anyone over 50. Concerning the last group, it is very difficult for a human body to get b-12 from animal products and it only becomes more problematic as a person's digestive system ages. Hence the need for anyone over 50 to take a supplement to insure their health.

The facts

I'm sorry. I have no intention of being a contrarian, but that is out of date information. I've had an interest in these issues for decades.

In reading the scriptures, there are two kinds of mistakes:One mistake is to cling to the literal text and miss the inner principles.The second mistake is to recognize the principles but not apply them to your own mind, so that you waste time and just make them into causes of entanglement.

I'm sorry. I have no intention of being a contrarian, but that is out of date information. I've had an interest in these issues for decades.

OK, no problems - so you say that this is out of date and you have better information - please give us that information with references. I am open to learn from proven sources and many people are interested in this subject.

We are all entitled to our own opinions - but we are not entitled to our own "facts'. This is more so the case when what we write can affect the lives of other people.

I'm sorry. I have no intention of being a contrarian, but that is out of date information. I've had an interest in these issues for decades.

OK, no problems - so you say that this is out of date and you have better information - please give us that information with references. I am open to learn from proven sources and many people are interested in this subject.

We are all entitled to our own opinions - but we are not entitled to our own "facts'. This is more so the case when what we write can affect the lives of other people.

mettapaul

No disrespect Paul, but I have little faith in an exchange of citations on the internet. People just dispute the validity of the sources of the citations they do not like. More honestly, I am too tired and do not care enough to look up where I read them. That isn't disrespect, just an honest answer.

In reading the scriptures, there are two kinds of mistakes:One mistake is to cling to the literal text and miss the inner principles.The second mistake is to recognize the principles but not apply them to your own mind, so that you waste time and just make them into causes of entanglement.